CEREMONY: A “HEALING stone” was unveiled during the Eucharistic Congress opening ceremony at the RDS in Dublin yesterday, in acknowledgement of the abuse of children.
A large shaped piece of Wicklow granite, it is engraved with a prayer that originally featured in the Liturgy of Lament celebrated in Dublin’s Pro-Cathedral in February of last year.
The prayer reads:
Lord, we are so sorry
for what some of us did to your children:
treated them so cruelly,
especially, in their hour of need.
We have left them with a lifelong suffering.
This was not your plan for them or us.
Please help us to help the.
Guide us, Lord, Amen.
Following consultation, including abuse survivors, it was agreed the stone would be an appropriate symbol for the congress.
Afterwards it is intended to find a more permanent home for it on an accessible site.
The intention is that it will be a permanent and public reminder of the need never to take child safeguarding for granted.
Fr Kevin Doran, secretary general of the congress, said: “Stone speaks of permanence. To say something is ‘carved in stone’ is to say that it is here to stay rather than just a passing thought. The stone represents the firm determination to work for healing and renewal.”